


Dreaming the night away

by Ostodvandi



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Fluff, M/M, some hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 00:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20380297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ostodvandi/pseuds/Ostodvandi
Summary: One fateful night created a habit between Dimitri and Claude that could last through five years.





	Dreaming the night away

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Jonas for giving the idea for this soft mess. Hope you enjoy it.

It was one of those nights in which he hadn't been able to sleep, and the best option had been to stroll around the monastery until exhaustion kicked in again.

That was the plan anyway, a plan soon ruined by a sudden sound that came from a couple bedrooms away from his.

The corridor looked sinister in the night, but it wasn’t like Dimitri was a stranger to it. However, the prospect of an intruder was way scarier and likelier than a ghost, and so he proceeded cautiously, ready to punch someone if necessary.

It had come from Claude's room, if he had calculated correctly. And so he twisted the doorknob, ready for…

Huh.

He didn't know how he had expected Claude's bedroom to look like, but this place was a complete mess. Various books were spread all over the place, occupying the bed, the tables, even the floor, and Claude had fallen asleep on his desk.

There was one especially thick book at his feet, probably the source of that sound earlier.

Dimitri sighed.

'Well… I can't just leave him like this.' Not now that he had seen this. And so he started to pick up the books one by one, bookmarking those who were open.

Dimitri couldn't, for the most part, distinguish how many belonged to the library and how many to Claude, but they were interesting nonetheless. There were all kinds of matters in his collection: herbology, geography, Fodlanese history and politics, math, and even gardening. He wondered why he’d need all this knowledge for, but he was too tired to think too much about it.

He organized the books by whatever topic they were about, and placed them neatly under his window.

Then, he looked at Claude, who was still dreaming the night away . Again, he couldn’t just leave him like this.

After some hesitation, he carefully pushed the chair back, and picked Claude up by placing his arms under Claude’s knees and back. Somehow, the movement didn’t wake him up, which could only mean he was truly exhausted.

As delicately as he could - which wasn’t much, but, to be fair, he was trying - he placed Claude on his bed. The young man muttered something in his sleep, in a language Dimitri couldn’t understand.

Dimitri frowned, but that was enough. At least now Claude wouldn’t get as much back pain, and the whole ordeal had indeed exhausted Dimitri enough to go back to sleep himself.

Next time he couldn’t sleep, he walked outside the room, and another strong sound would catch his attention. The scene repeated himself, with Dimitri finding a sleepy Claude and a messy room.

And the next, and the next, until it became a sort of ritual for his sleepless nights, and he didn’t need any falling book to go check on Claude. At this point, Dimitri was aware of the true nature of these encounters, even if they’d never talk about it under daylight.

There was something about them helping each other sleep through the night that made Dimitri’s heart beat faster.

* * *

Five years had passed, and the only thing that didn't change were his recurring nightmares.

No, even those had changed. They were even worse now, bloodier and scarier with every person added to the mountain of corpses at his feet. Even the corridor looked more grim in the dead of the night.

His external wounds had healed. And the memory of Claude flying towards him to save him looped in his mind. He couldn't understand it. He had never been able to figure him out, but what could Claude gain from saving a monster like him? Firepower?

Who knew what went through that man's mind.

Shortly after he closed the door, he heard a soft but distinct sound from two rooms away.

His heart jumped in a way it hadn't in a long, long time. And he hesitated. Goddess knows how long he hesitated until he slowly walked the steps that separated his old room from Claude’s.

He twisted the doorknob slowly, and entered the room.

It was just as messy as he remembered it, if not more, and Claude was sleeping over a bunch of research papers and what he thought to be a Fódlan map. Dimitri sighed as he closed the door behind him.

Despite the exhaustion and his general lack of energy, his body seemed to move on its own, fueled by something he could barely remember. One by one, excruciatingly slowly, he bookmarked the open books, piled them up, and placed them under the window like he had done so long ago. Then, he turned to Claude.

He could have called him out. He knew it was an act of his, like it had always been. But Dimitri still pushed back the chair softly, and slid his arms under Claude’s knees and back, picking him up.

He stared at Claude’s face, and cracked a small smile. He was an excellent actor.

His arms carefully descended on Claude’s bed, laying the young man down, and prepared to stand up and go back to his room.

And then, Claude’s hand grabbed his shirt, pulling him back down. His deep green eyes had always been hypnotizing, but they were even more so in the exact moment they met Dimitri’s gaze.

Claude grinned. ‘Would you kiss me goodnight, Mitya?’

His voice slid into Dimitri’s ears as if it were made of the sweetest honey. Claude’s hand moved from his chest up to Dimitri’s neck and cheek, stroking it. Subtly pushing him down.

Dimitri hummed, and bent down until his mouth found Claude’s. Soon, his body was hovering over Claude’s, and his heart bumped way too furiously against his chest.

When was the last time he was kissed this softly, this sweetly?

‘Would you like to stay?’

It felt like a trap. An incredibly sweet trap that Dimitri was melting into.

‘...I shouldn’t…’

‘But do you want to?’ Claude grinned again.

‘I…’ Dimitri looked away. His cheeks were burning. ‘I do…’

‘Then, just this once…’ Claude moved, leaving a spot big enough for Dimitri in the bed. ‘Let me hold you.’

His body gradually lay down on the bed, right by his side, and Claude’s arm embraced Dimitri, covering him with the blanket.

‘Good night, Mitya.’ Dimitri closed his eye, giving himself up to Claude’s voice. Just for one night. ‘I hope you carry me next time too.’


End file.
